The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-04-27

YOU etlilt ALlllzS II L AOu11. Jul Won L.
Do not be among those who imagine they can
build themselves up by pulling somebody elso
down. Be not ashamed 10 be a subaltern.
Again / counsel clerks in this house to
search out what are the unlawful and dishon-
est demands of an establishment and resist
them In the 5000 years that have passed
there has never been an occasion when it was
ones duty to sin against God 1t is never
right to do wrong. II the head men of the
firm expect of you dishonesty, disappoint
them. "Oh,0 you say, Il should lose my
place then" Better lose your place than lose
your soul But you win not lose your place.
Christian heroism is always honored. You
20 TO the head men Of your store and say:
"sSir ] want to serve you; | want TO oblIge
you; it is from no lack Of industry on my
part but this thing seems to rue to be wrong,
and it is a sin against my conscience; it is a
sin against God, and / beg you, sir, 70 excuse
meT He may flush up and swear but he viii
cool down and be wlll have more admiration
for YOU than for those who submit to his evil
dictation; and while they sink you will rise
Do not, because Of seeming temporary ad-
vantage, give up your character, young man.
Under God that is the only thing you have
10 build on Give up that, you give up
everything That employer asks a young
man 70 hurt himself for time and for eter-
nifty who expects him TO make wrong entry
or change an invoice, or say goods cost 50
much when they cost less; or impose upon
the verdancy Of a customer or misrepresent
a style Of fabric How dare he demand Of
you anything 50 insolentl
There is one style of temptation that comes
on great many Of our clerks, and that is
upon those who are engaged III what IS called
drumming" Now. that occupation is just
as honorable as any other, if it be conducted
in accord with ones conscience. In this day.
when there are 50 many rlvalries ia business,
all our commercial establishments ought to
have men abroad who are seeking out for OPP
portunities of merchandise. There can be no
objection to that. But there are professed
Christian merchants in the week night prayer
meeting who have clerks abroad in New
York conducting merchants of Cincinnati
and Chicago and St Louis through the de
baucheries Of the great town in order to
secure the custom for the store. There are in
stores in New York and Brooklyn drawers in
which there-are kept moneys which the clerks
are 10 go to and get whatever they want to
conduct these people through the designations
of the city The head men of the firm wink
at it, and in some places actually demand it
-professed Christian merchants. One would
think that the prayer would freeze on their
lips and they would fall back dead at the
sound of their own song. What chance is
there for young men when commercial es
Establishments expect such things of them
Among all things INTERNAL L pronounce that
the most damnable Young man, now viii
that firm treat you when you are utterly de
spoiled and dragged out with sin going
through the haunts of iniquiJy for the pur
pose of getting customers for their store
How will they treat youl Oh, they viii GIVE
YOU a pension! They will build you a fint
house! They will get you horse and car
riage, VIII they. No. Some day you viii
20 to the store, shabby, intoxicated, worr
out in their service, and they viii say: John
you are disgrace to our house. Now
Just look at yourself. Accountant, how
much do YOU owe this man!' "A dollar anC
thirty cents" "Well, now, here-here it is
a dollar and thirty cents Go off. Don't b1
hanging around the store J." Magnanimit,
superb! They stole the hster from his eye
and the color from his cheek and the homo
from his soul. and then they kicked him out
If such professed Christian merchants do no
go straight to hell l don't know any use o
having such place. Oh, young men, disap
point the expectation of that firm; disappon
those customers if these things are expected
of you You may sell an extra case of goods
y0u may sell an extra roll of silk; but tn
trouble is, you may have to throw your sou
to boot in the bargain.
Again: I counsel all clerks to conquer tn
trials of their particular position. One grea
trial for clerks is the reconsideration of Gus
toners. There are people who are entirel.
polite everywhere else, but gruff and dicta
torial and contemplate when they come int
a store to buy anything There are thousand
of men and women who go from store t
store to price things, without any idea o
purchase. They are not satisfied until ever,
roll of goods is brought down and they hav
pointed out all the real or imaginary defects
They try on all kinds of kid gloves, ant
stretch them out of shape, and they put on al
styles of cloaks and walk to the mirror to Sc
how it would look, and then they sail out o
the store, saying: Il will not take it to-day !;
which means: Il don't want it at all, leav
ing the clerk amid a wreck of ribbons ant
laces and cloths, to smooth out $500 worth o
goods-not one cent of which did that maj
or woman buy or expect to buy. Now,
call that a dishonesty ON the part of tn
! customer. If a boy runs into a stor
and takes roll of cloth off tn,
counter and sneaks out into the street. yot
all join in the cry, pell mell 'Stop theft
When | see you go into a store, not expect
ing to buy anything but to price things
stealing the time of the clerk and stealing tht
time of his employer, say, too: stop thief
If | We're asked which class of persons mos
need the grace of God amid their annoy
ances, would say: "Dry goods clerks" Al
the indignation of customers about the higl
prices comes on the clerk. For instance
A E
closed The people go off to battle. TIL,
price of goods runs up. A customer come
| into a store. Goods have gone up. "Hov
much is that worthl" "a dollar" "A dol
lar Outrageous A dollar!" Why, who i
to blame for the fact that it has got to be
dollar? Does the indignation go out to tht
manufacturers on the banks of the Merrima,
because they have closed upa No. Does tn,
indignation go out toward the employer, VIII,
Is out at his country seatl No. 1t comes OF
the clerk. He got up the war; He levieC
the taxes He puts up the rentsl OF cours
the clerk
Then great trial comes to clerks in tn
fact that they see the parsimonious side o
human nature. You talk about lies behinC
the counter-there are Just as many lies be
fore the counter. Augustine speaks of maj
who advertised that he would, on a certain
| occasion, tell the people what was in thei
hearts. great crowd assembled and h.
stepped to the front ana said: Il will tell yol
what is in your hearts: To buy cheap and sci
dear~ Oh, people of Brooklyni lay not asid
your urbanity when you come into store
Treat the clerks like gentlemen and ladies'
proving yourself to be a gentleman or
lady. Remember that if the prices are higl
and your purse is lean, that is no fault of tn,
clerks. And if you have a son or a daughte
amid those perplexitieS of commercial life
and such one comes home all worn out, b
lenient and know that the martyr at the stalk
no more certainly needs the grace of Coo
than our young people amid the sever
times heated exasperations of a clerks life
Then there are all the trials which come t,
clerks from the treatment of inconsiderat
employers. There are professed Christian
men in this city who have no more regard fo
their clerks than they have for the scales OF
which the sugars are weighed. A clerk is n,
more than so much store furniture. No con
sideration for their rights or their interests
Not one word of encouragement from sunris
to sunset, nor from January to December
But when anything goes wrong-a streak O
dust ON the counter or box with the cove
oh-thunder showers of scolding Men i'm
perious, capricious, cranky toward thei
clerks-their whole manner as much as {.
say: ~All the interest l have in you is to Sc.
what can get out of YOU
Then there are all the trials of incompetent
wages. Some of You remember when tn,
war broke out and all merchandise went mn
and merchants were made millionaires in 81,
months by the simple rise in the value O
goods Did the clerk get the advantage o.
that rlses Sometimes, not always. 1 saw
estates gathered IN those times over which tn.
curse of God has hung ever since The CRY
of underpaid men and women in those store.
reached the Lord of Sabaoth, and the indig
nation of God has been around those estab
lishments ever since; rumbling in the car
riage wheels, flashing in the chandeliers
glowing from the crimson upholstery, thun
dering in the long roll of the ten pin alley
Such men build up palaces of merchandise
heaven high, but after while u disaster viii